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Organiser Dr Tom Gorman, said: "We've had fantastic support from both the public and the consultants.

"We've had lots of cheers and handshakes. Lots of people coming to talk to us.

"It is quite a complex issue but I think people understand the general idea that no-one wants to be treated by tired doctors."

Dr Gorman, who is a GP trainee in Co Durham, said Junior Doctors had travelled from as far as Manchester and Glasgow for the demonstration which began outside the city's medical school.

He said he was particularly pleased by the support from consultant colleagues who joined the march or covered juniors' shifts so they could attend.

BMA

Nurses and midwives are also supporting the Junior Doctors

Many consultants covered Junior Doctors' shifts last Saturday as well when 20,000 protesters took to the streets in London to march to Parliament in anger at the planned changes.

The new contract is set to be imposed on Junior Doctors from next August and will reclassify doctors' normal working hours to extend them from 7am to 7pm to instead end at 10pm every day of the week except Sunday.

Medics argue they will lose out financially as evenings and Saturdays will be paid at the standard rate rather than a higher rate, and patients' safety will be put at risk from mistakes by tired doctors working even longer hours than they already do.

But, the British Medical Association (BMA) argues Mr Hunt has failed to offer any guarantees on key issues such as pay and protection for doctors who wish to work less than full-time or take parental leave.